WEAK: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for WEAK?

Need another word that means the same as “weak”? Find 67 synonyms and 30 related words for “weak” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Weak” are: faint, light, unaccented, washy, watery, fallible, frail, imperfect, debile, decrepit, feeble, infirm, rickety, sapless, weakly, puny, fragile, delicate, inadequate, poor, unconvincing, untenable, tenuous, implausible, unsatisfactory, slight, thin, transparent, irresolute, spineless, craven, cowardly, pusillanimous, timorous, timid, indecisive, ineffectual, useless, inept, effete, meek, tame, powerless, ineffective, impotent, namby-pamby, soft, lily-livered, faint-hearted, dim, pale, wan, dull, muted, diluted, dilute, thinned down, adulterated, tasteless, flavourless, bland, insipid, mild, unenthusiastic, half-hearted, limp, lame

Weak as an Adjective

Definitions of "Weak" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “weak” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

  • Liable to break or give way under pressure; easily damaged.
  • Having standard (or regular) inflection.
  • Wanting in physical strength.
  • Not having authority, political strength, or governing power.
  • (of prices or a market) having a downward tendency.
  • Exerting only a small force.
  • (of a faculty or part of the body) not able to fulfil its functions properly.
  • Tending downward in price.
  • Lacking the force of character to hold to one's own decisions, beliefs, or principles; irresolute.
  • Lacking intensity or brightness.
  • (of a team or military force) containing too few members or members of insufficient quality.
  • Displaying or characterized by a lack of enthusiasm or energy.
  • Lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality.
  • Not convincing or logically forceful.
  • Overly diluted; thin and insipid.
  • Lacking power or influence.
  • Of a low standard; performing or performed badly.
  • Deficient in intelligence or mental power.
  • Lacking the power to perform physically demanding tasks; having little physical strength or energy.
  • (used of verbs) having standard (or regular) inflection.
  • (of a belief) not held with conviction or intensity.
  • (of features) not striking or strongly marked.
  • (used of vowels or syllables) pronounced with little or no stress.
  • Deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc.
  • (of a syllable) unstressed.
  • Wanting in moral strength, courage, or will; having the attributes of man as opposed to e.g. divine beings.
  • Denoting a class of verbs in Germanic languages that form the past tense and past participle by addition of a suffix (in English, typically -ed).
  • Likely to fail under stress or pressure.
  • Deficient or lacking in some skill.
  • (of a liquid or solution) heavily diluted.
  • Pronounced with little or no stress.
  • Relating to or denoting the weakest of the known kinds of force between particles, which acts only at distances less than about 10⁻¹⁵ cm, is very much weaker than the electromagnetic and the strong interactions, and conserves neither strangeness, parity, nor isospin.

Synonyms of "Weak" as an adjective (67 Words)

adulteratedMixed with impurities.
blandLacking taste or flavor or tang.
A bland and unadventurous vegetarian dish.
cowardlyLacking courage.
Cowardly dogs ye will not aid me then.
cravenLacking even the rudiments of courage; abjectly fearful- Spenser.
A craven abdication of his moral duty.
debileLacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality.
decrepitLacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality.
A decrepit bus its seats held together with friction tape.
delicate(of food or drink) subtly and pleasantly flavoured.
Delicate negotiations with the big powers.
dilute(of colour or light) weak or low in concentration.
Dilute sun.
dilutedMade weaker in force, content, or value by modification.
Diluted alcohol.
dimMade dim or less bright.
Dimmed headlights.
dullEmitting or reflecting very little light.
A dull political campaign.
effeteDeprived of vigor and the ability to be effective.
He chatted away exercising his rather effete charm.
faintIndistinctly understood or felt or perceived.
Haven t the faintest idea.
faint-heartedLacking conviction or boldness or courage.
fallibleWanting in moral strength, courage, or will; having the attributes of man as opposed to e.g. divine beings.
Everyone is fallible to some degree.
feebleLacking strength.
Her feeble cries of pain.
flavourlessLacking taste or flavor or tang.
The soup was thin and flavourless.
fragileVulnerably delicate.
She has the fragile beauty of youth.
frailEasily broken or damaged or destroyed.
She looked frail and vulnerable.
half-heartedFeeling or showing little interest or enthusiasm.
imperfect(of a gift, title, etc.) transferred without all the necessary conditions or requirements being met.
Imperfect mortals.
implausibleHighly imaginative but unlikely.
This is a blatantly implausible claim.
impotentLacking power or ability- Freeman J.Dyson.
He was seized with an impotent anger.
inadequateLacking the requisite qualities or resources to meet a task.
A sad solitary inadequate man.
indecisiveNot providing a clear and definite result.
He was too indecisive to carry out his political programme.
ineffectiveLacking in power or forcefulness.
An ineffective teacher.
ineffectual(of a person) lacking the ability or qualities to fulfil a role or handle a situation.
The therapy was ineffectual.
ineptGenerally incompetent and ineffectual.
Inept handling of the account.
infirmLacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality.
Those who were old or infirm.
insipidLacking vigour or interest.
Many artists continued to churn out insipid shallow works.
irresoluteShowing or feeling hesitancy; uncertain.
The committee was timid and mediocre and irresolute.
lame(of a person) naive or socially inept.
The TV licensing teams hear a lot of lame excuses.
lightCharacterized by or emitting light.
A light load.
lily-liveredEasily frightened.
limpLacking in strength or firmness or resilience G.K.Chesterton.
A limp gesture as if waving away all desire to know.
meekVery docile- Langston Hughes.
She brought her meek little husband along.
mildMild and pleasant.
A mild rebuke.
muted(of a sound or voice) quiet and soft.
A dress in muted tones of powder blue and dusty pink.
namby-pambyWeak in willpower, courage or vitality.
paleAbnormally deficient in color as suggesting physical or emotional distress.
The pale or wan stars.
poorOf a low or inferior standard or quality.
The area was poor in timber and coal.
powerlessLacking power.
Troops were powerless to stop last night s shooting.
punyInferior in strength or significance.
Puny excuses.
pusillanimousLacking in courage and manly strength and resolution; contemptibly fearful.
ricketyInclined to shake as from weakness or defect.
Rickety limbs and joints.
saplessDestitute of sap and other vital juices; dry- Norman Mailer.
Her body looked sapless.
slight(of a person or their build) not sturdy; thin or slender.
A slight increase.
softSoft and mild not harsh or stern or severe.
The soft sciences.
spinelessHaving no spine or backbone; invertebrate.
Spineless forms of prickly pear have been selected.
tameBrought from wildness into a domesticated state.
Tame animals.
tastelessLacking flavour.
The vegetables were watery and tasteless.
tenuousLacking substance or significance.
A tenuous cloud.
thinRelatively thin in consistency or low in density not viscous.
His thin jacket.
thinned downRelatively thin in consistency or low in density; not viscous.
timidShowing a lack of courage or confidence; easily frightened.
I was too timid to ask for what I wanted.
timorousShowing or suffering from nervousness or a lack of confidence.
In a timorous tone.
transparentHaving thoughts or feelings that are easily perceived; open.
A transparent lie.
unaccentedPronounced with little or no stress.
His English is fluent and unaccented.
unconvincingNot convincing.
She felt the lie was unconvincing.
unenthusiasticNot enthusiastic; lacking excitement or ardor.
An unenthusiastic performance by the orchestra.
unsatisfactoryNot giving satisfaction.
Her performance proved to be unsatisfactory.
untenable(of theories etc) incapable of being defended or justified.
This argument is clearly untenable.
uselessNot fulfilling or not expected to achieve the intended purpose or desired outcome.
A piece of useless knowledge.
wan(of the sea) without lustre; dark and gloomy.
A wan smile.
washyOverly diluted; thin and insipid.
Washy coffee.
wateryThin or tasteless as a result of containing too much water.
Watery milk.
weaklySickly; not robust.
If the lambs were weakly we had to feed them by hand.

Usage Examples of "Weak" as an adjective

  • She was recovering from flu, and was very weak.
  • She managed a weak, nervous smile.
  • A weak market for oil stocks.
  • A weak president.
  • The central government had grown too weak to impose order.
  • His beard covered a weak chin.
  • A weak pulse.
  • A weak plot.
  • The weak link in the chain.
  • The choruses on this recording are weak.
  • He had a weak stomach.
  • Weak colors.
  • Weak tea.
  • The new king used his powers to protect the weak.
  • A weak pillar.
  • The argument is an extremely weak one.
  • A weak stress on the second syllable.
  • He's weak in spelling.
  • A weak mind.
  • A weak magnetic field.
  • Their commitment to the project is weak.
  • The salamander's tail may be broken off at a weak spot near the base.
  • He was not weak or a compromiser.
  • Their problems arose from fielding weak teams in league matches.
  • A weak light from a single street lamp.
  • A cup of weak coffee.

Associations of "Weak" (30 Words)

breakableThings which are fragile and easily broken.
Pack the breakables separately.
brittleA brittle sweet made from nuts and set melted sugar.
Peanut brittle.
cravenLacking even the rudiments of courage; abjectly fearful- Spenser.
A craven proposal to raise the white flag.
debilitatedLacking strength or vigor.
A debilitated patient.
decrepitWorn out or ruined because of age or neglect.
A row of decrepit houses.
delicateA delicate fabric or garment.
The delicate wing of a butterfly.
droopingHanging down (as from exhaustion or weakness.
Lilacs with drooping panicles of fragrant flowers.
effeteAffected, over-refined, and ineffectual.
The young man spoke in effete accented English.
emaciatedVery thin especially from disease or hunger or cold.
She was so emaciated she could hardly stand.
emaciationExtreme leanness (usually caused by starvation or disease.
Thin to the point of emaciation.
fecklessLacking initiative or strength of character; irresponsible.
Feckless attempts to repair the plumbing.
feeblePathetically lacking in force or effectiveness.
I know it s feeble but I ve never been one to stand up for myself.
flaggingA walk of flagstones.
She wants to revive her flagging career.
fragile(of a person) not strong or sturdy; delicate and vulnerable.
A small fragile old lady.
fragilityThe quality of being easily broken or damaged.
His emotional fragility.
frailThe weight of a frail basket full of raisins or figs between 50 and 75 pounds.
The balcony is frail.
impotentUnable to take effective action; helpless or powerless.
He was on medication which had made him impotent.
ineffectiveLacking in power or forcefulness.
The legal sanctions against oil spills are virtually ineffective.
ineffectualNot producing an intended effect.
An ineffectual campaign.
infirmNot physically or mentally strong, especially through age or illness.
Infirm of purpose give me the daggers.
languid(of a period of time) relaxed and peaceful.
She was pale languid and weak as if she had delivered a child.
limpA tendency to limp a gait impeded by injury or stiffness.
He limped heavily as he moved.
powerlessLacking power.
Troops were powerless to stop last night s shooting.
puny(used especially of persons) of inferior size.
Puny excuses.
ricketyLacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality.
A rickety banking system.
spinelessWeak in willpower, courage or vitality.
Spineless forms of prickly pear have been selected.
vulnerable(of a person) in need of special care, support, or protection because of age, disability, or risk of abuse or neglect.
We were in a vulnerable position.
wan(of light) lacking in intensity or brightness; dim or feeble.
A wan smile.
weaklyIn a way that lacks strength or force.
She leaned weakly against the wall.
wimpA hypothetical subatomic particle of large mass that interacts weakly with ordinary matter through gravitation; postulated as a constituent of the dark matter of the universe.
Anyone who wimped out because of the weather missed the experience of a lifetime.

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